Aquatic animals such as, for example, crustaceans are an important food source (seafood). Crustaceans must typically be kept alive until just before they are to be eaten. This has created a need, for efficiently transporting live seafood, as well as a simple and efficient means for keeping the seafood alive for long periods of time.
When preservation of live seafood is intended for only a matter of hours, a typical means of transportation known in the art includes boxes or crates filled with ice. However, when using the above means of transportation and when seafood is to be transported a longer distance it has been necessary to transport the seafood by air. Airfreight has been used to transport seafood, as well as fresh produce and other organic food. However, there are several disadvantages associated with air-freighted food. In particular, the cost of packaging, including gel packs to keep the product cool, is expensive; logistics and handling are complex, since the food has to be loaded on a truck, airlifted to the desired destination, and then unloaded onto a truck to be delivered to the purchaser, which results in operating costs that are prohibitively expensive. In addition, air transport is not, at the present time, environmentally friendly due to the amount of packaging used and the amount of fuel necessary to transport relatively low volumes of food. In addition, the cost of carbon emissions may result, in the near future, in a reduction of food which is air-transported.
As an alternative to air-freight ground and/or sea transportation systems for seafood are also known in the art and usually consist of containers filled with water or seawater. The live aquatic animals, which may be transported in such containers, include mollusks, crustaceans, and fishes. The transportation of aquatic animals over long distances posses a significant challenge since, when the animals have been contained in the water for a long period of time, the water will be contaminated by their body wastes and oxygen in the water will be decreased: Accordingly, the mortality rates are very high.
The problem of transporting live aquatic animals and the context in which this problem was considered are discussed below. US Patent Application No 2007/0245971 to Rayner describes a bulk produce transport container including a tank capable of supporting a wet environment. The system described by Rayner primarily uses water as an environment for the live aquatic animals. In addition, in the system described by Rayner loading of the product is done through a manhole at the top of the tanktainer or in tanks of water.
European Patent No. 72,334 to Martin discloses a process for keeping alive aquatic animals, such as crustaceans, during transport thereof, in which the animals are placed and maintained in a water-tight space.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,727,579 to Lee discloses a system and method for preservation and transportation of lobsters, wherein temperature-conditioned aerated salt water is continuously sprayed upon the lobster in a container from the time it is caught until it is finally Sold:
U.S. Pat. No. 3,192,899 to Lucey et al. discloses a somewhat similar development to Lee's invention, viz a unit for storage of live shellfish, in particular crawfish and lobsters, comprising a plurality of trays vertically disposed one upon another, each tray having at least one perforation therein, the uppermost tray being provided with a sea-water feeding device. The unit may be provided with a means for recirculating the water, and refrigeration means to cool directly the water or the air.
Japanese Patent Application No. 2004242620 to Yamamoto et al., International Patent Application PCT/NO2002/328 to Lyngstad, and French Patent Application No. 2,550,917 to Jean-Francois Toulouse are representative of applications and/or patents discussing vehicle-mounted water tanks for fishes for storing water and having at least one feed pipe and at least one discharge pipe for discharging water, and a pumping means for circulating and flowing water. In addition. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,177,777, 5,309,868, and 5,572,952 to Niino, Tomiyama and Manome, respectively, disclose putting the live fish into a hibernation-like state by cooling the fish to a temperature within a temperature range which provides conservation of the fish without being harmful to the fish. In many of the above-identified prior art documents the product is immersed in water thereby limiting the payload due to the large volume of water that is required.
The invention was developed in recognition of the need for a more efficient transportation system for live aquatic animals over long distances.